Modern medical technologies including computerized imagery and endoscopy technologies have significantly advanced the field of arthroscopic medicine. In particular, in the area of arthroscopic surgical procedures, conventional computerized devices are able to render real-time live x-ray views of anatomical structures undergoing a medical procedure. One example of a common medical procedure is the repair of soft tissue, such as the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), within a person's knee joint. A damaged ACL is often replaced arthroscopically by a tissue graft. The tissue graft can be harvested from a portion of a patellar tendon having so called “bone blocks” at each end or from the semitendonosis and gracilis. Alternatively, the tissue graft can be formed from synthetic materials or from a combination of synthetic and natural materials. The replacement tissue graft is implanted by securing one end of the tissue graft in a tunnel formed in a passage within the femur, and passing the other end of the graft through a tunnel formed in the tibia. Generally, sutures are used to affix each end of the tissue graft to an anchor (e.g., an interference screw or a post), which is then secured to the bone. Identification of the specific locations for placement of the tunnels in the femur and tibia of a knee joint can be somewhat tricky given that the knee joint is a dense area and there are many different sized bones for different people undergoing the ACL repair procedure.
One example of a mechanical device that provides assistance in properly locating the ACL insertion sites is described in issued U.S. Pat. No. 5,968,050 (the '050 patent) which is issued to the same assignee as the present application. The entire contents of the '050 patent is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. The '050 patent describes a purely physical guide or tool for positioning a tibial tunnel in ACL reconstruction. As opposed to a physical tool, another example of a conventional technology used for ACL reconstruction utilizes real-time x-ray and computerized graphical imagery to assist in ACL repair procedures for a knee joint and is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,319,897 (hereinafter the '897 patent), the entire teachings and contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Conventional mechanisms that provide computer-aided assistance for surgical techniques such as the one described in the '897 patent suffer from a variety of deficiencies. A computerized system, methods and apparatus that provide localization software operable to allow a medical professional such as a surgeon to view both still and video frames of images of an anatomical structure on a graphical user interface are needed.